Editorial | Taiwan talks to say much about US ties
- Visit of American health secretary Alex Azar to the island on Sunday, and his meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen, will be watched closely for clues to the strength of their diplomatic relationship
Provocative military activity around Taiwan has aggravated the most sensitive issue in China-United States relations, with both sides conducting naval and air force missions centred on the Taiwan Strait. Along with air and ocean activity in the South China Sea, East Asia is a centre of tension that could easily escalate.
This calls for political resolve to avoid miscalculation. The visit to Taiwan, beginning tomorrow, by US Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar only risks compounding tensions, when easing them should be the priority.
The highest-level American visit to Taiwan for more than 40 years has prompted a strong protest from Beijing, with a spokesman citing the need to avoid further damage to relations and safeguard stability in the strait.
Azar is not only the highest ranking cabinet member to visit since Washington switched recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, but also the first senior official to visit Taiwan since President Donald Trump signed the Taiwan Travel Act in 2018, allowing official visits between the US and the island against China’s firm opposition.
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US health chief to make highest-level visit to Taiwan in decades, angering China
Azar projects his visit as an affirmation of recognition of Taiwan’s success in containing Covid-19. But three months ahead of an election, with Trump trailing badly in the polls and resorting to China-bashing to distract attention from failed policies against the pandemic, it is of course political.